A New Generation of Power Lines
VEIR is developing the next generation of superconducting electric transmission lines, a type of advanced conductor, that operate with 5-10x the transfer capacity of conventional lines at a given voltage level. VEIR’s first AC overhead product line is capable of transmission capacities of up to 400 megawatts and voltages of up to 69 kilovolts. VEIR will rapidly scale to higher-power and higher-voltage products.
In December 2022, VEIR completed a low voltage, single phase demonstration of a 100-foot overhead DC superconducting power line. VEIR successfully operated the line at 4,000 Amperes — a first for an overhead superconducting powerline. In April 2023, VEIR energized a low-voltage, low-power overhead outdoor demonstration.
VEIR enables the deployment of superconducting power lines that are scalable from short to long-distance overhead, on-ground, and underground applications, including subsea transmission. Previous generations of superconducting power lines use complex, closed loop, active nitrogen cooling systems that limit their use to short-distance underground applications. VEIR uses a simple, open loop, passive nitrogen cooling system where distributed evaporation delivers 20x the cooling power per kilogram of liquid nitrogen coolant. VEIR decreases the complexity, reduces conductor weight, and lowers the overall cost of superconducting power lines, and offers more capacity than any other advanced conductor.